Andrew mouse



` oNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

-ANDREw MORSE, or PORTLAND, MAINE, ASSIGNOR To HIMsELr AND IRA wINN, OE

- SAME PLACE.

EXTENSION-PLATFORM.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 32,265, dated May 7, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW MORSE, of Portland, inthe county ofCumberland and State of Maine, have invented` a new and Improved,Adjustable or Extension Platform; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had `to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a corner elevation and half Sectionof the improved adjustable or eXtension platform when the parts are in aclosed state. Fig. 2, is a side view of the adjustable or extensionplatform showing the same when the `parts are in an open State and theplatform is at its `highest point of elevation.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

This invention is an adjustable or extension platform, intended for theuse of painters in working on the outside of buildings. Or it may beused by firemen in cases of fire as a means of escape from elevatedpoints, or for any vpurpose to which it may be found useful.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand my invention Iwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, A, A, A, are four slide ways arranged so as to radiate from a center,from which center proceeds up perpendicularly, a pedestal B, with threegrooved pulleys a, a, and ZJ, in its upper end the axis of two ofwhichiare at right angles to the other (b). The Slide ways have T shapedrails, on which the four blocks C, C, slide, toward and from the centralpedestal B, simultaneously; to each of these blocks are jointed twoextension-levers D, D, and the upper ends of each pair of these leversare' jointed to pulley .blocks c, c, in which are pivoted horizontally,grooved pulleys over which the pulley chain E, passes.

VVith the jointed eXtenSionlevers a quadrilateral framework is made,which may be composed of any `suitable number of levers all jointedtogether so as to open and close harmoniously; and on top of thisframework a platform G rests which has on its under side four horizontalslotted guideways A',l A', A', A', which are parallel with the slideways A, A, A, A, at the base of the frame. Into the slots of ways A, A,work pins, having T heads, which are attached to blocks F, F, F, F, towhich the ends of the uppermost pairs of levers D, D, are jointed. Tothe top of these right angular Slotted pieces A', A', the platform G, isbolted. Each pairof extension levers D, is composed of three bars two ofwhich are put parallel together and the other works between these two sothat when the platform G., is down `as far as it will go the edges ofthe levers will t snugly together and occupy comparatively very littlespace. It will be Seen from this description that this quadrilateralextension jointed framework may be extended or contracted and that asthe ends of'the levers of each side. of the frame are all jointedtogether the platform will be kept in a horizontal position while thelevers are distended, or when they are brought together. j Therefore bymoving the blocks C, C, C, C, toward the pedestal B,

the ends of all the levers D, D, will be drawn voperate these levers Iattach to one of the blocks C, a flanged drum or windlass H, and twohand cranks H, H, with a ratchet wheel and pawl d, c. Around the drum H,passes a chain E, which chain passes around pulleys that are pivoted inthe sliding blocks C, and from these blocks the chain is carried topulleys in the corner blocks c, 0 c, and from one of these blocks to theother the chain passes, until it arrives at the sliding blocks F, F, F,F, when it is crossed diagonally from one of these blocks to the otherand finally it is attached to a drum J, on top of the platform G. Thechain E in 'together and the platform will be elevated j passingdiagonally across the under-side of l the platform, passes through a hubK, which is fixed to the center of the platform, in which hub are fourpulleys g, g, g, g, which are pivoted in the slots through which thechain passes.

A hole is cut through the center of the platform and also through thehub K, large enough to admit the pedestal B, and as the chain is crossedin the center of this hole it will be taken by the 4pulleys on the endof the pedestal when the platform is below the end of the pedestalas'shown in Fig. 1, and in this manner the chain will act on the pulleysa, a, and b, while the platform is below a certain point, and when thisplatform is high enough to be operated independently of this centralsupport the chain leaves the pulleys.

one of the sliding blocks F, through slots which cut through theplatform in a line corresponding to the movement of the block F, towhich the arms are attached. This upper windlass is furnished with apawl and ratchet and crank arms like the lower windlass so that powermay be applied either at the top or at the bottom of the frame, or atboth places at the same time.

- In winding up the chain on either, or both Saa e5 windlasses, thecontractile power is not only applied to both ends of the extensionjointed frame but the chain operates upon the ends of each pair oflevers with the same force that it does upon the top and bottom ends, ofthe upper and lower levers in the frame.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

lThe arrangement of the pulley standard B, radiating sliding blocks C,and rails A, with the jointed levers D, D, pulley blocks c, hub K, cordE, and windlass H, J, all in the manner and for the purposes hereinshown and described.

ANDREW MORSE. Witnesses:

GEORGE H. PERKINS, D. H. INGRAHAM.

